Love in the Stacks: Kindle Worlds opens new door to fanfic

This may not seem like a worthy topic for Happy Ever After, but fanfiction is finally getting the respect I believe it truly deserves. The recent launch of Kindle Worlds has brought writing fanfiction from the dark corners of the Internet into the international spotlight. Readers can find fanfiction based on romantic favorites such as Bella Andre's Game for Love, H.M. Ward's The Arrangement and Lucy Kevin's Four Weddings and a Fiasco. Where writers were once publishing their fanfiction on sites for free, they now have the opportunity to be published authors and make a profit from it. Readers can now continue some of their favorite stories in a way that was never possible before, which includes different characters and storylines within the original author's world.

Kindle Worlds has brought television, movies, books, and comics to the publishing platform in a way that I never thought would be possible. As a fan of the television series Veronica Mars and its recent movie, I can now read any and all of the 19 books that fall within that specific Kindle World. Where I once searched sites like Archiveofourown.org or Fanfiction.net, I can now find professionally published stories that continue the adventures of my favorite teen sleuth (and her romance with bad-boy Logan Echolls).

Readers can now find more romantic stories within Bella Andre's Game for Love world, where more sexy athletes get a shot at love. Perhaps you want to continue reading stories that involve alpha heroes from Barbara Freethy's The Callaways series? Maybe you have an alpha hero of your own who would fit right in alongside the Callaways? Kindle Worlds has made that a reality. I get that fanfiction may not be for everybody, and that's OK. For someone like me, this opens a whole new set of doors for books to enjoy and potential books to publish myself. If you're still not convinced about this whole fanfiction thing, then let me give you a piece of evidence that might change your mind.

Fifty Shades of Grey.

It started out as Twilight fanfiction. The story was a different take on Edward and Bella. and it has since sparked a revolutionary change to the erotic romance industry. Some might say it is the reason that erotica is selling so well right now. It all started because a writer fell in love with two characters and wanted to continue their story in a way that was previously not possible. What it has proved to me is that it doesn't matter who an author is, who the characters are, or what the storyline is. If readers love a story, then that story has power. By allowing other fanfiction stories to be written, who knows what the romance industry might see in the near future? All it takes is for one person to write one book that stirs something in the reader's heart and then the world is faced with an international bestseller.

The future potential of Kindle Worlds, and the types of stories that you can find there, is virtually limitless. As of right now there are a total of 26 worlds that readers can choose from, and they range from romantic favorites to surprising reads such as G.I. Joe. Should Teen Wolf become an available world, you would certainly find my fanfiction available not long after. This also applies to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed.

So, before you head on over to Kindle Worlds to check it out for yourself, here are some suggestions of books you might enjoy.

• Game for Love: Game On (Kindle Worlds novella) by Cat Johnson.

• The Callaways: It's Only Love (Kindle Worlds novella) by Carol Grace.

• The Arrangement: The Seduction (Kindle Worlds novella) by Carly Phillips (yes, the Carly Phillips).

• Four Weddings and a Fiasco:The Wedding Date (Kindle Worlds novella) by Katy Regnery.

As always, feel free to start a discussion in the comments below and head on over to Twitter to share some of your favorite authors or series that you would like to see in Kindle Worlds.

Happy reading!

Sean Gilmartin (@author_sean) has always been in a world of fantasy and superheroes. It was his fascination with good vs. evil that kindled his love of reading. When he is not working as an award-winning librarian, Sean blogs more often than he likes to admit. Follow Sean's blog and his work as paranormal romance author Sean Thomas at www.seanthomasauthor.com.